Havant MP Alan Mak has described his recent meeting to push for a new Emsworth surgery as ‘very positive’ but agreed more work is needed.

Mr Mak held a meeting on July 8 which was attended by the surgery’s doctors, NHS bodies, councillors from Havant Borough Council and a firm of surveyors to move the process forward and to provide an update on the situation.

Last year, Mr Mak vowed to lobby NHS Property Services at the highest level to get them to redevelop the old Emsworth Victoria Cottage Hospital site in North Street.

Residents have been waiting for over a decade for a new and larger premises at the old, but the move has encountered several difficulties.

The Emsworth Surgery move issue is proving complicated because a large number of organisations are involved including three NHS bodies, as well as the current doctors’ surgery.

A number of key developments were made at the meeting and the South Eastern Hampshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group have submitted a bid to NHS England, the national NHS body, for £4.4m to fund the costs of building the surgery.

Mak is backing this bid, and said he will lobby NHS England to make the funding available.

Mr Mak said: ‘With a bid for capital funding now submitted and an agreement on the building’s broad design principles, we are making good progress, and our latest meeting was very positive. There is more work to do, including agreeing a range of financial details, but everyone is playing their part and working hard.’

The green light was also given to the outline design of a new surgery building, which is set to comprise a two-storey detached surgery with an attached pharmacy.

Emsworth councillor Colin Mackey said: ‘Residents have waited patiently for years for a new surgery as it’s clear the current building is not suitable for a growing patient list. We’ll continue to support Alan’s excellent work on this key local issue.’

However, agreements about rents and service charge levels still need to be made. Discussions are ongoing and another meeting will be held in late September 2016 to review progress.